The following is a little talk I was roped into giving back in '88.
The Mau Mau Insurrection is interesting for many reasons, not the least
of which is the fact that it serves (like the Salem, MA
witch trials and later American Communist hunts) as an excellent example
of mass hysteria. It is an even more exceptional case though because
while it seems that the Mau Mau were originally invented by the European
settlers (even the word "Mau Mau" appears to be a European
invention) there can be no denying the fact that real Mau Mau
appeared on the scene shortly thereafter and quickly became a tangible
army and active fighting force.
Even the most bizarre claims of the settlers (that the Mau Mau consisted
of multiple tribes that historically didn't really get along) eventually
came into being to some extent although the Mau Mau were always mostly
of the Gikuyu people. One final word -- the best reference to the
Gikuyu culture and the peoples of Kenya before the Mau Mau Insurrection
occurred is without doubt Facing Mount Kenya: the tribal life of
the Gikuyu by Jomo Kenyatta (NY
Vintage Books, 1965) and reading this book cover to cover should be the
first step undertaken before beginning any Mau Mau research. Certainly
it was a very interesting event in history. I wonder why American high
schools don't seem to cover the incident much...

I will be talking about the economic aspect of the Mau Mau
movement in Kenya from the point of view of the Mau Mau during
the early stages of the Mau Mau Insurrection.

The economy of the natives in Kenya prior to the coming of the
Europeans was based on a few simple things. They had no system
of currency, so wealth was measured in terms of land, sheep,
goats, and cattle. When the British came to Kenya, they changed
a few things in their attempts to "civilize" the
natives. First, they introduced money as we know it. Second,
they introduced the concept of taxation. Neither one of these
changes pleased the natives much, but the main problems were due
to a slight misinterpretation. When asked about the land in
which they lived, various natives referred to it as "our
land". The British felt (conveniently) that this meant
that all the land was owned by the tribal government, and that
since they were replacing the tribal government, they should
obviously get possession of the land. In point of fact, land
was privately owned, though by families and not individuals. So
when the British claimed the land in the name of the new
government, the peoples of Kenya universally considered it
outright theft.

Linked with the loss of land was the loss of economic
independence. When a man could not farm his own land, he would
have to serve someone else; either farming their land or working
in the British settlements. This ammounted to little more than
serfdom, for there was a clear double standard. The Kenyan
natives would only get one fifth the compensation the settlers
got (on the average) for the same amount of work.

Under such hardships, it was only a matter of time before the
natives revolted. The Mau Mau movement found its roots in the
Gikuyu tribe. They were the most populous tribe in Kenya, and
the quickest to get Western education. Their civilization also
allowed secret societies to flourish; they had had secret
societies like the Arogi operating against the law since before
the Europeans came to Africa, and they took oaths very
seriously. Thus, when a new secret society like the Mau Mau
came along preaching help to the Gikuyu and other tribes, it
quickly grew. Note that to this day no one really knows what
the original goals of the Mau Mau were. The organization was
declared illegal on the assumption that it was anti-government.

The Mau Mau survived as a secret society and as a fighting force
because they were able to get supplies from a few different
sources. First, they had the popular support of the people.
Second, the people who did not give to them willingly were
generally forced to support their cause, and they were able to
get still more supplies through theft. They also charged money
from the new members as payment for the oath cerimony, and all
possessions of all the members were expected to go into the
cause if needed. They were also able to get some supplies from
the forests in which they hid. Contrary to the popular belief
at the time, they did not recieve any support from the
International Communist Conspiracy.

This describes the situation for the Mau Mau until March 26,
1953. On this date, they lost much of their popular support
because of the Massacre at Lari. It is far from certain that
the Mau Mau caused it, but they were blamed by the people and
the press at the time. Further, in April of 1954, the Mau Mau
Central Committee was neutralized by the government, effectively
destroying their only organized supply network. Once their
sources of supply were thrown into disarray, it was a downhill
struggle for the Mau Mau.